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Oh Life

Have you ever taken a
moment just to sit in silence and think about life? Well there are so many
times that I’ve done that. Sometimes I do it just because; without any reason
and without any purpose, just like a daydreaming. Sometimes I do it when I feel
bored and got nothing else that I want t do when I actually have a lot of
things I must do; in other words, it’s for some procrastination reason.
Sometimes I do it when I feel too tired to do something else; that the universe
seems too crowded and suffocating at that moment until I feel like I need to
stop and take a breath for a moment. Well, life is just like that. That is what
I usually get in the end of my ‘thinking about life’ moments. I might not be a
special person in this world. There are a lot of people out there who are like
me; write things like me, do things like me, think of things like me, say
things like me, act the way like me, and many more. However, I am the lead
character of my own life. And I’m fully aware that everybody is a lead
character in their own life. Therefore, no matter what kind of life we are
leading as we are, we have to seize it; for we won’t have another life like
this.

“So after all is said
and done, I know I’m not the only one. Life indeed can be fun, if you really
want to.”–Des’ree, Life

The one-hit-wonder
titled “Life” is my second song to review in this 2018. It is performed by the
British singer, Des’ree, and was released as the third single taken from her
third album, “Supernatural”, on June 8th 1998. The album itself was later
released on June 29th 1998. The pop soul track was written by Des’ree Weekes
herself along with Prince Sampson. The song remains Des’ree’s biggest hit,
though the banal lyrics and simplistic rhymes have been widely derided; with
the song winning the ‘worst ever pop lyric’ in a BBC poll. However, I try to look deeper into those simple lyrics
and figure out the metaphoric meaning of it. And voila! Here we are.

"Life" single cover | source: en.wikipedia.org

Have you ever taken
some times just to sit in silence and try to know yourself better? What you
like and what you don’t. What you prefer and what you don’t. What you would
like to choose and what you avoid. Well, I think everybody needs to do that at
the very least once in their life. We need to know ourselves. As much as how
scary it is to know ourselves and discover some ugly truths about ourselves, we
got to do it. Unless, I can confidently say that our lives mean nothing. We are
human. We’re not a robot. “I’m afraid of
the dark, especially when I’m in a park and there’s no one else around, oh, I
get the shivers. I don’t want to see a ghost; it’s a sight that I fear most.
I’d rather have a piece of toast, and watch the evening news.” We have to
know what we’re afraid of. And we have to admit it. Hence we could find a way
to overcome our fears instead of avoiding it. Everyone has their own fears. And
when we know ourselves better, that is when we know that there is no shame in
admitting it. It’s real to be vulnerable. And real is so rare these days.

Have you ever taken
some times just to stop from anything you do and try to figure what, why, and
whom you do those things for? Are you doing it for yourself or for somebody
else? Are you doing it for a cause? Are you doing it just because? Are you
doing it and not even knowing why you’re doing it? Well, I think everybody
needs to figure that out at the very least once in their life. We need to know
what matters for us. We are human. Hence we are supposed to do things humanely
instead of mechanically. “I’m a
superstitious girl; I’m the worst in the world. Never walk under ladders; I
keep a rabbit’s tail. I’ll take you up on a dare, anytime, anywhere, name the
place, I’ll be there, bungee jumping, I don’t care.” When we know ourselves
better, we would know our limits, we would know what or who could motivate and
bring us to our limits. Hence, we could find a way to not hesitate about
ourselves and have some confidence. Even the most introverted caveman would get
out from his nest in order to save his best friend; for that’s the humane thing
to do.

Have you ever taken
some times just to be with yourself and think about what you want to do in
life, what you want to be, and to differ it from what you need to do and what
you need to be in life? We all have a dream. And we all want that dream to come
true. We all need some goals. And we all need to achieve those goals. We have
to know ourselves better in order for us to know what we want and what we need.
“So after all is said and done, I know
I’m not the only one. Life indeed can be fun, if you really want to. Sometimes
living out your dreams ain’t as easy as it seems. You wanna fly around the
world in a beautiful balloon.” We are all the lead character of our own
lives. Hence the decision is in our hands. How we would turn our lives into;
that’s up to us. Are we going to be human? Or are we going to be a capitalist
robot who lives mechanically? Are we going to do things humanely? Or are we
going to be heartless bitch who doesn’t give a fuck towards the world? Are we
going to chase our dreams? Or are we going to live in bubbles of illusion? “Life, oh life.”

"Supernatural" album cover | source: en.wikipedia.org

Without we even
realize, sometimes we are trapped in toxic thoughts, toxic friendship, or even
toxic relationship. Would we love ourselves better when we keep on being
judgmental towards ourselves? Hating ourselves won’t lead us anywhere but
despair. Why would we keep a friend when we keep badmouthing them behind their
back? That’s not how friendship goes; for real friends would speak up in front
instead of behind the back. Why would we keep a lover when we keep looking for
other flings for excitement? That’s not how relationship goes; for real lover
would stay faithful no matter how hard things are. Are we going to live in
hypocrisy, pretending everything is fine when it’s not, and acting like we’re happy
when we’re sad? Are we going to be raw and vulnerable yet authentic and
genuine? Or are we going to be a fake plastic tree just to fit in the society?
This world is indeed full of liars and pretenders, moreover in this era of
advance capitalism and digital media. Real is so rare because fake is
everywhere.

“Sometimes living out
your dreams ain’t as easy as it seems. You wanna fly around the world in a
beautiful balloon.” –Des’ree, Life